Laziators

What is it with some people while entering the elevator? I constantly see a few stand right in front of the door as if they are a bunch of kids inline for a roller coaster. Don't you people realize until all of us inside get out YOU CAN't GET IN. Oh and dont you dare get in and press any number that I can count on one hand. Use the stairs you lazy people "dont blame McDonalds".

This rule also applies to those of you who do this at the subway stop as well. Stand back a few inches and ill bet money the train wont leave any later then it would if you blocked the door like an idiot. As for the guy i shoved on the way out the door a couple of days ago, it wasnt an accident. Please dont approach the doors as soon as the train stops. One more thing. Some of you on the T who are a little bigger than the rest of us and like to take up seats. Thats fine if the T is empty. But when you see an older couple standing in-front of you GET UP. Please dont wait for the skinny little guy under your right side to get up. First of all he cant get up from under you and two if he does the older people are probably not going to risk their lives and take his place.

Escalators: I really cant stand when some people get on and STAND right in the middle. The whole idea is that if you make a few steps it will get you to the top faster. Now I realize that some people are just not in a hurry and sometimes im not either but if your not sure about the person behind you kindly move to the right ... its easy. For some of you to easy and you should probably be taking the stairs.

I have a few more but ill save it for later. Thats enough with the pet peeves

Dear "Mr Wendel"

Oh Homeless... what can I do?

For those that you live in the city you know its likely that you will run into a homeless person at least once a day. Here in Boston I know all the regulars their spots and routines. When I first moved here three years ago I used to give a buck or two a week sometimes less to a few guys that I used to walk by every night near my old apartment. I was especially generous on the way home from the bar on the weekends and they new it waiting for all the intoxicated students to walk by. They even new my name. But as I have grown accustomed to it all I am a little more cynical and I dont really give it out anymore. Sometimes they make me feel uncomfortable like when they approach you in a cornering attempt to get your change. I have ignored many on lots of occasions and walk away feeling guilty and shameful. Funny how that works but they get me every time. Although In the winter time I'm still a little generous especially when it is cold but it just does not feel like my place to do so.

Is that wrong? I think so. I would love to give more, even though every holiday season my family contributes to the salvation army and other charitable organizations I feel like it just isn't enough. These people on the streets are only a small benefactor of this system of organizations. Many of them ignored more often then helped. I know how tuff it can be with a paying job. Can you imagine how tuff it would be without and also the lack of understanding by all of us who walk the city streets everyday. By the way does anyone know what happened to the Weather Man in the Boston Common. I miss his loud voice and sports insights that used to spread laughter to all passerby's. We miss you Weather Man!!

Some of the homeless I see often work the crowd and have some sort of skit or performance, some good some not, but these people are good spirited and make me want to reach in my pocket and throw in some change. Especially the street performers that play in the Boston Subways. (some just do it as extra income) but for many of them its their main source of income. So even though I dont think Im going to spend any more I will always think about it first and sometimes throw in the change in my pocket. If I were rich I though in some extra. But for now I'm a little upset at the amount of you who keep hounding me for dollars when you catch me standing at the crosswalk or in the median at off ramp with a sign filled with small letters i can not read as your walking by.

Call me scrooge but I know your all guilty of this too!!

Above Photo: This is Mr Butch, He used to hang around in Allston MA every morning while I was waiting for the Boston T to class. He was the head honcho of the area and I always witnessed him keeping his homeless friends in line and out of trouble. He was always nice to the locals. I dont know if your still around and playing your Fife but thanks for all those days of entertainment and morning greetings. 2004 by J. Pinette

The Blog Hog

So I write about a lot of different things on my blog. Lately it seems a little scattered and I feel that I may not be what I want as of yet. Its been just over a year since I started bloggin, came up with the title and have been spending my free time filling it in ever since. I have gained a few regular readers and have a few blogs that I follow as well. It has become a great hobby of mine and Im not giving it up anytime soon. I know that my writing skills are not the best even though I have a great college education, spelling and grammar have always been my biggest downfall. I apologize for that as I'm sure many of you have noticed but you keep coming back anyway. Some days the words just flow out with little to be concerned about while other days I have a sudden urge of inspiration and when I begin to write it down I get lost in all the thoughts. I know this is probably the problems and feelings of any writer so I continue to do it anyway.

Now comes the question... where exactly am I going with this blog? What is it that that I want to say? I've been thinking about this for some time and the only answer I can come up with is that overall I think it has been lacking a personal touch and needs to be a little more consistent. Sure I express my options about current events and sometime add a short blip about my personal life but it seems so censored at times. I think what I need to do I relate the two a bit more. How do the events of the world around relate to me. So until next time thanks for coming by and ill see you in the blogsphere.

GOT GMAIL?

I have lots of invites to give away... leave a comment/send me a good link and ill send you a GMAIL ACCOUNT leave money and Ill give you a lot of GMAIL accounts

Ford Tough?

Its amazing how things work in this consumer culture. Ford "the" founding father of our countries industrial revolution has had to take a large step in the wrong direction. It just like GM. Everyone knows the story of Flint Michigan where GM cut thousands of jobs back in the late 80's (Michael Moores Film "Rodger and Me" if you haven't seen it then do because its one of those important films in life, take my word for it) Anyway we arrive once again as the United States industrial backbone of the auto world is finding that its gotten to big and counterproductive.

Is this really the story or is it a sign of a recession on the way? "Ford has seen U.S. auto sales fall each of the last six years, as its overall U.S. sales are now down more than 1 million vehicles, or 26.6 percent, since 1999. In 2005 alone. Ford's sales fell nearly 5 percent to less than 18 percent of the market, down from more than 25 percent of the market 10 years ago" stated on CNN.com.

Is this just because there is a larger amount of choices from the rising number of foreign automakers? Or could it be that ford has just concentrated on the wrong market in a time when Gas prices are lingering high. Ford makes some of the largest automobiles. Such as the Lincoln Navigator and Expedition among other SUV's and Trucks. Not that I have anything against trucks. They seem to serve a purpose most of the time. SUV's on the other hand... well I guess soccer moms need lots of room for their shopping bags.

If anyone from ford reads this which is unlikely you should probably take the 250,000 electric vehicles you promise to make and put those assembly lines here in the US to replace lost jobs instead of india where you have spent 75-million (at least that what I could find.) Also Hybrid cars! this is something you should have done 5 years ago putting you ahead of the game. I understand the technology is not quite perfect but thats probably because to much time was wasted outsourcing instead of putting money into research. I cant do much but simply write on my blog in hopes that your future as a US found company does not end up a long list of mistakes in the history books as a lost cause in India. I know I'm assuming a bit hear while rambling about things that are a bit far from my expertise but its a sad day when one company effects a 100,000 people or more. At the very least I hope it gets some of us thinking about what we can do to avoid outcomes like this in the future.

Why are we stuck in the past?

"Miners found dead" Once again this month I turned on the news to see a repeat tradgety in our countries coal mines. This is once again devastating news of miners trapped from unexpected hazards below ground. I want to send out my dearest regards to the family's who were apart of this tragedy this past weekend and I hope that they can find forgiveness to those of us who still rely heavily on fossil fuels. This brings me to my question. Why are we still using coal... What good does it do. Its dirty, and just plain old fashion. I dont know exactly off hand but isn't a large part of Pennsylvania ruined by burning underground coal mines...? What a waste of land and yet we still send men underground to gather up this black gold that just doesn't seem to do any good. I thought maybe we rely on coal because it was a cheap form of fuel. But this is not so. The money it cost to handle and clean up its effects end up being substantially more costly then other fuels.

One health example of coal that just makes me cringe; The long-term exposure to dust in the hard coal mining industry can lead to various pathological lung changes, especially to chronic bronchitis without and with obstructive ventilation disorder, lung emphysema, pneumoconiosis (coal miner's pneumoconiosis, in Germany categorized as silicosis) and silicotuberculosis. These health disorders show a close pathogenetic and pathophysiological association and should not necessarily be regarded as individual entities. Most exposed subjects demonstrate more or less all of these pathological disorders. On account of individual (genetic?) susceptibility, their degree differs greatly. Some individuals are largely resistent, other subjects show severe effects like emphysema, progressive massive pneumoconiosis, or the Caplan syndrome. Several studies showed that the pathologically verified degree of lung fibrosis is associated with lung crystalline SiO(2) content whereas the emphysema score is inversely correlated with the coal content. With regard to diagnostics and medical expert opinion, it is important that conventional radiology has a low sensitivity. Further, health impairments of miners engaged for longtime which are insurance relevant (MdE) exist in cases without (BK 4111 if beginning after 12/31/1992) or with coalworkers' pneumoconiosis even for categories. Yet even after this is pretty well known by many we still send people down in these conditions.

If your still reading then you probably agree that this is something that needs to stop. Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he was planning to introduce mine-safety bills in the state Legislature and to lobby the U.S. Congress to enact more mine-safety laws. Also along those same lines he said he intends ensure there are ample oxygen stations within mines and making sure rescuers have the means to respond as rapidly as possible.

Anyway on another note, D and I spend a great deal of time together yesterday mostly downtown. It was another spring like day here in Boston with Bostonians filling the parks and lining the streets. After a day of exploration we ended up at the movies to see "Walk the Line" a great film about Jonny Cash. If you have not seen it I highly recommend it. Walk the Line Staring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (she is amazing in this film)

I love my saab

Random post

Left work early for some personal time at home today...

The new look

So last night I stayed up late and gave the blog a face lift. Its not exactly what I was going for but its a bit better. I wish I understood CSS just a little better because there are a few other things I would like to do. Any suggestions about the colors... I kind of liked the red before but I just wanted to see what else worked...

Also anyone who wants to suggest a designer or is one please give me a quote or a helping hand.

Funny

Found this today and had a good laugh... so I share it with you

In the news

As we enter the forth week of the new year things have once again become hectic and I have obviously been ignoring my blog. Also I have a new interest in my life whom I have been spending quite a bit of time with. I promised not to mention a name but lets just call her D and note that she is incredible in so many ways. By far the the most interesting GF I have had not to mention very cute, we'll have to wait and see what happens she seems to good to be true. Yesterday after I had a horrible day (one of the worst in my life and I dont want to talk about it now) D came over and brought ice cream Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia my favorite and white wine. No one before her had ever done that for me, it was a very kind gesture super sweat. (So many points to her, id better catch up)

One of the things contributing to my bad day is that I have been a bit broke lately and its stating to concern me a bit. Its the first time ever that I have no income but so many bills. Im booked for some photo-shoots next month but of course they are not soon enough. I have been looking for a part time job somewhere around in the area to accommodate my limited free time but nothing has come up as of yet. The cable company turned me off during DEC which I have recently turned back on and actually worked out for the better since it saved a bit of money as they offered me new subscriber promotions that gave me three months free... I think ill have to hold payments more often. Funny how that worked out. Even though I have little money I did have a few Gift Certificates from xmas that I had to go use last week. I used my Apple gift card to buy a new clock radio for my iPod Ihome I highly recommend one of these babies. It even comes with a small remote and sounds pretty good for 99 dollars, plus it charges my iPod in a cozy little dock. After splurging at the apple store I also I had a gift card to Trader Joe's which came in handy for some much needed groceries.

Just before writing this I was watching the news about Pixar and Disney. This possible merger would not only make Steve jobs a wealthy man but he would be head chairman for disney as their largest shareholder. This is great news for Jobs as it will help Apple Computer continue to grow making it a even more bullish stock than it has been in the past few weeks at least in my prediction.

Today while I was searching the internet I found Themilliondollarhomepage.com in the news on CNN's website. I had posted a link to this page during thanksgiving break. It was only half complete then. The page allows others who want to place ads within collage of other ads and pay per pixel. Well he accomplished his goal of a million dollars in four months of creating the page and now has been threaten by some internet hacking clan. Check out the full story here.

Spring has arrived??? UPDATED 1/20

Can someone explain to me what exactly is going on with the weather. This winter has been mild here in Boston. With only one winter storm and a week on cold weather. It has been in the mid 40's all week and is sopose to hit mid 50's tomorrow. Its January!!! That is not normal, where is the snow and the cold that I look forward to complaining about every year. Well at least I saving on my heat bill.

UPDATE 1-20-06

TODAY it nearly reached 60 degrees out... Would someone please agree that something extremely bizarre is going on with the weather... Its freken January

Do you like Seafood

I want to share a great recipe of mine… if you’re a seafood lover than you’ll like this one

Serves 2

8-10 large sea scallops (bay scallops are ok too)
Pinch of Kosher salt
1/3 cup of light, half & half or heavy cream…(heavy is better in the end but not necessary)
¼ stick of butter or margarine cut into a couple of squares
1 lemon cut in half save one whole half and cut other half in to thin slices
Fresh mozzarella broken into small pieces
Fresh ground pepper
½ cup White wine I prefer a (Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon blanc)

Optional ingredients
Bacon (pre cooked and crumbled)
Bread crumbs for top

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate I recommend a smaller square oven safe dish.
2 Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Rinse the scallops, and drop them into the boiling water; cook for 2 minutes. (if using bay scallops then only 1 minute) Remove the scallops with a slotted spoon. Place on the bottom of the prepared pie plate.
3.Add cream wine, pepper, salt and squeeze remaining half of lemon juice into dish Spread broken mozzarella and butter squares evenly through out dish (add bacon and bread crumbs to top if used and then top with lemon slices save two for later.)
4. Place in oven and check in 15 minutes…. Should be slightly brown and bubbly

This can be served as main dish or on top of pasta…

I haven’t tried it but it seems it would also be good on top of fresh spinach leaves. Let me know this is one of my favorites and it is fairly easy to prepare. I hope you like it.





I found each one of these phrases and search words in my stats counter over the last week. I find it interesting to see what people are looking for on the net, which results in leading to my blog. These are exactly how they appeared in the searches

Im desperate for money
Blog hog (this search showed up 8 times in one week with different isp’s,, I guess I chose a good title)

Million dollar home page
Got her number
Get rid of my carotenemia
hog comments early word
carrots photography
arrest warrant fine

Carotenemia was a topic I wrote about three months ago when I came across a man who decided to eat carrots for two weeks and see if he would turn orange. I went back his site and found his conclusion his experiment showed clear signs of his body turning orange from a strict diet of consuming carrots. You go orange man! I think your nuts but at least you stuck with it till the end.

Back to Boston

Ill be back in Boston Tomorrow!!! Thank god. I couldn't take another day of CT and I cant wait to start my new Job.
By the way as for my license and warrant issue a few weeks Back... I currently have no license since they suspended it yesterday, basically paperwork crossed paths in the mail and as a result my license is no good. I should have it back in a few days. So if anyone is in the Boston area and wants to give a guy a ride then please feel free to pick me up. As for the arrest warrant, well luckily no problem there.

If anyone checked out my profile I will have a new blog soon. (Urban Drifter) This will be a review site of places that I have visited in my daily travels and night excursions, mostly current visits but ill dig a little into the past to help get it going soon. I hope to see some of you visiting and commenting there.


Google is so clever check out todays google logo.... (update, Prego brought to my attention that it was Louis Braille's birthday... thanks Prego I hadn't thought of that.

looks like Braille to me